Long Narrow Gimachi Global Dispensing Pharmacy

Japanese modern culture really amazes us, sometimes by its genius, other times by its craziness or absurd inutility. But most often we are shocked by the mixture of contemporary design, modern technology and a little bit of traditional elements, all combined for a spectacular result. Ogimachi Global Dispensing Pharmacy by ninkipen! is located in Osaka, Japan and, in my opinion, it represents one big statement for the contrasting Japanese style.

At the origins, the place where the pharmacy sits today was a farm road. This is why designers chose to give this building the resemblance of a humble shack. The building is long, slim and elegant, with front and back glass walls. The interior is also very stylish, gathering wooden columns and rafters which give a worm feeling. The customers waiting area is on a small loft level, born from the need of space. After all, the building is kind of slim and a little too tall for an only one store building. But hey, Japanese are space saving masters!

What displeases me is the pharmacy’s location. Independent analyzed, its architecture and design are splendid, but the surroundings don’t support it at all. The tall buildings near the pharmacy are so close to its lateral walls that you can hardly pass by. The two architectural styles don’t match at all and my biggest wonder is how do the pharmacy’s constructors got their construction authorization, considering that the pharmacy’s lateral walls almost block the ground floor windows of the close buildings.{found on designboom}.